They Can't See Us
by honeyMellon
Summary: Shuuhei just couldn't get used to the idea of having humans walk through him as he strolled down Karakura town without his gigai, and Renji decides that they need to cure Shuuhei's unnecessary fear.


**I thought of putting this story as a chapter in "Tease", but figured that...you know, it's not _actually_ about teasing...so, here it is, a one-shot piece with my favorite boys. ;)**

**NOTE: I'm actually on a sick day off, nursing a fever as I wrote this, so please do point out any errors...**

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"It's crazy, isn't it?" Renji said as they walked down the sidewalk. "They have no idea that we're here, they can't see us, can't hear us, can't smell us. Blows my mind every time I think of that."

Shuuhei chuckled, feeling slightly uneasy as he instinctively dodged the humans sharing the walkway. Today was another one of those rare moments when he quietly assigned a quick message delivery chore to himself so that he could pop into Karakura town to see Renji. He'd gone to Urahara's first, but Renji took his visit as an opportunity to escape from chore-hell.

Standing in front of Urahara Shoten asking for Renji had been most embarrassing for Shuuhei. Seeing the knowing grin on Urahara Kisuke's face gave him a sudden urge to give the man a good kick in the face, but he held himself in check. _Soul Society needs this man, Soul Society needs this man_, Shuuhei reminded himself repeatedly as he imagined himself slicing that damned striped hat into two with Kazeshini.

Now, as they walked down the streets of the town, Shuuhei felt oddly self-conscious as he was surrounded by all these living humans, people from all walks of life; students clutching books to their chest and laughing, joking with friends, men in work suits walking hurriedly with their heads down, mothers holding young children... _They don't know_, Shuuhei thought with a chill. _They have no idea that their lives are all in peril as long as Aizen is free._ _We're working everyday to save them, yet they can't even see us, don't even know that we exist_.

He stepped to the side to let a woman carrying an umbrella walk past him. In his head, he knew that she would've just walked right through him without sensing his presence, since he was not in a _gigai_, but it was still strange, so he always avoided walking into humans when he could.

"You know you don't have to dodge, right?" Renji asked, watching Shuuhei in amusement as the dark-haired man stepped aside again.

"Yeah, yeah," Shuuhei replied gruffly. He felt a little silly, but he just couldn't get used to the idea of having people walk _through_ him. As he watched Renji walk right into a man, looking completely nonplussed, he wondered how the redhead could feel so comfortable with it.

Renji stopped and turned back to wait for Shuuhei to catch up. He smiled as Shuuhei angled his body sideways to slip between two groups of people. _Ahhh, Shuuhei_, Renji thought as he admired his partner's lean body. Always so adorable.

"Why can't we just take the roofs?" Shuuhei asked when he finally caught up to the redhead. He looked around him apprehensively. "There's so many people around here."

Renji laughed as he rested his elbow casually on Shuuhei's shoulder. "Well," he said, gesturing to the buildings around them. "You wanted to get to know the town better, right?" He heard Shuuhei mumble under his breath, no doubt grumbling about Renji. "Come on, relax, they can't see you," he reminded Shuuhei, patting the man on the arm reassuringly.

Shuuhei sighed. "It's just so..." he began.

"Uncomfortable, right?" Renji finished for him. He wrapped his arm around Shuuhei's shoulders and pulled the man in for a hug. "You'll get used to it, it took me a while, too. But now, see?" Shuuhei stiffened as a group of giggling girls in school uniforms walk right through them. "It's nothing!"

"I get your point," Shuuhei grumbled, shrugging off Renji's arm.

Renji tightened his grip on Shuuhei's shoulder. "What's the matter?" he asked, grinning cheekily. Inwardly he was rubbing his palms together with glee; a cruel idea had just popped into his mind. He knew Shuuhei didn't like public displays of affection, no matter how small they were. And _this_, he looked around them, _this_ is the _perfect_ playground.

Shuuhei gave a grunt of annoyance as he tried—and failed again—to free himself. Goodness! What's _wrong_ with the idiot? "Let go!" Shuuhei said. "Don't hug me in public like this, Renji! Are you stupid?"

Renji laughed and waved his free arm around. "They can't see us!" he said, looking at Shuuhei's slightly flushed face. "We can do _anything_ we want and they won't have a clue," he added in a suggestive whisper.

"You're kidding me!" Shuuhei cried out in alarm and renewed his efforts to extract himself from Renji's arm. He could see the wicked gleam in the redhead's eyes and he had a bad feeling about where this was heading. In his struggle, his feet slipped a little, and Renji immediately took the opening to pull Shuuhei closer, crushing the man's face against his chest.

Shuuhei's yells of protest were muffled as Renji guided them both to the wall of a building next to the sidewalk. Once he was there, he pushed Shuuhei against the wall. He placed his right palm on the wall, next to Shuuhei's head, while his left hand pressed firmly on Shuuhei's chest, holding the man in place. Ignoring the accusing look in Shuuhei's wide, slate-grey eyes, he leaned in to whisper in the man's ear, "We can do _anything_ we want, Shuuhei."

"Come on, don't be stupid!" Shuuhei said, panic beginning to rise. Renji was serious! He felt the redhead's hot breath by his neck and froze. His eyes took in all the pedestrians walking past them, and he suddenly felt frighteningly exposed.

"We need to cure this unnecessary fear of yours," Renji whispered softly, then he lowered his mouth to suck on Shuuhei's ear lobe. He felt Shuuhei's body tense up, so he rubbed his palm gently on the man's chest, hoping to calm him down somewhat.

"Don't—" Shuuhei whispered, but he couldn't suppress a shudder when Renji's skilled tongue traced his jawline. His heart pounded, partly because of the sweet sensation from Renji, but mostly because of his rising fear of being seen like this. _All those eyes! Those people! _

Renji hummed as he placed soft, wet kisses down Shuuhei's neck. When he came to Shuuhei's collar bone, he stopped and pulled back slightly to look at the flushed face before him; Shuuhei's eyes were closed, his lips slightly parted from panting. Renji closed his eyes and leaned in for a kiss. Shuuhei made a weak sound of protest, but his lips parted wider for Renji anyway.

Renji savored the taste of Shuuhei's mouth; how he missed this, missed their intimate times together, missed hearing Shuuhei call out his name breathlessly as he came. But he knew his assignment in Karakura was critical to Gotei 13, so he simply had to make do with just replaying these memories in his head. Every time he did that, he would have the biggest hard-on ever, then he'd have to quietly take care of himself, which was an extremely unpleasant thing to do under Urahara Kisuke's roof. Now that he felt the warm skin against his own once more, he couldn't hold back.

Shuuhei jumped when he felt Renji's fingers wrap around his arousal through his _hakama_—yes, he was aroused; despite his fear at the situation, he had hardened. How could he not, when Renji was doing such delicious things to his body? He was still vaguely aware of the people walking by, but they were quickly fading further and further back into his consciousness as Renji stroked him. It was never the same when he had to do it himself, when he found himself lonely and craving Renji's touches. Renji's hands were..._special_.

"I love you," Renji whispered hoarsely as he pressed his forehead against Shuuhei's. His left hand was still on Shuuhei's chest—he could feel the fluttering of the man's heart—but his right hand had long since abandoned the wall for Shuuhei's need.

Shuuhei thought his legs were going to give out under him. Those words, and the friction between his legs...he clenched his eyes shut and hissed. _I need you, Renji!_ His mind cried out, but he couldn't bring himself to make a sound because, in the back of his head, he was still afraid that people would hear him. He reached out his hand blindly to search for Renji, then found it easily when the redhead thrust his hips against Shuuhei's body. He gave the sensitive flesh a slight squeeze and heard Renji's breath hitch.

After that, everything was a blur; fingers entwined and lips clashed. The fabric of their _shihakusho_ was becoming annoying, but somehow even Renji didn't dare to take it off. Hands moved at a feverish pace, hips grinded up against each other, breaths ragged from raw desire.

Then, Shuuhei let out a strangled cry as he stiffened and climaxed within the folds of his _shihakusho_. The feeling of his lover's erection pulse in his hand was too much, and Renji tumbled over the cliff with a soft groan. Their bodies remained pressed together as they slowly floated down from their high, then, when Renji felt that he could trust his voice again, he pulled back.

"See?" he said with a chuckle, his voice still a little shaky. "There's nothing to fear." As Shuuhei looked up and smiled, Renji closed his eyes and leaned in for another kiss. Their lips touched, and then—

"Oi—"

The two vice captains whipped their heads around towards the voice. A bespectacled boy with straight, chin-length black hair stood a few feet away from them, where the sidewalk apparently branched off to the side into a small alley.

"Ishida!" Renji gasped, mortified. He felt Shuuhei press back against the wall as if he wanted to melt into it.

Ishida Uryuu pushed his glasses up his nose and said grudgingly, "I know most people can't see you, but we can, you know." Right on cue, Orihime and Chad emerged from the alley; the girl waving at them in her usual cheerful, air-headed manner, while Chad simply gave them a solemn nod.

"Uhh..." Renji said, feeling his face burn with embarrassment. But, he had to know. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Huh? Long enough to see that you guys were kissing," Uryuu said with a hint of disdain. "Why?"

Renji felt his heart spring up from the pit of his stomach. "Ahh ha ha," he said, rubbing the back of his neck to cover up his awkwardness. "Nothing, nothing. It's all good."

Uryuu gave him a skeptical look, but didn't say anything. The three high-schoolers waved goodbye before continuing on their own way, leaving the two vice captains standing on shaky feet from the close call.

"They can't see us, huh?" Shuuhei said between gritted teeth, glaring at Renji murderously.

"I...ha ha...forgot...ha ha...about _them_..."

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**So...not really teasing, right? ;) If you were wondering what that snippet about Shuuhei and Urahara was, it's a reference to chapter 6 of my other story, "Tease". ;)**

**Anyway, I'm off to a quick nap to let Advil do its magic. Hope you had fun reading this. ^.^**


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